WMU launches first-of-its-kind partnership with Academy of Management, connecting students to global leaders
Western Michigan University’s College of Education and Human Development is the first institution of higher education in the nation to partner with the Academy of Management’s Community Accelerator Program, creating new opportunities for students to connect their scholarship with a global network of researchers, journal editors and organizational leaders.
Through a new memorandum of understanding, the partnership will expand opportunities for students in Western’s organizational change leadership (OCL) graduate programs to engage with leading scholars, practitioners and professional networks while connecting academic research with real-world organizational challenges.
This historic agreement creates so many new and meaningful pathways for our students to connect their scholarship, professional goals, and commitment to organizational impact with a global community. It strengthens the scholar-practitioner focus at the heart of OCL.
The partnership will be launched publicly through Converge: A Summit for Academics, Practitioners, and Emerging Professionals, Nov. 19-20 at Western Michigan University.
Built around the theme “Where scholarship meets practice – and both become stronger as a result,” the two-day gathering will bring together students, scholars, organizational leaders and industry professionals to explore theory and practice, translating research for industry, scholar-practitioner careers, publishing for impact and developing ideas for relevance and engagement.
The first day will feature panels, practical conversations and networking, followed by a half-day, application-based idea development workshop with journal editors on the second day.
Featured speakers include former Academy of Management President Jean Bartunek of Boston College; Roberto Vassolo, president of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management and professor at IAE Business School in Argentina; and Carole Bousquet, president of the Management Consulting Division of the Academy of Management and associate professor at IDRAC Business School in France. Journal editors from the Academy of Management family of publications will also participate.
The agreement builds on a growing relationship between Western’s organizational change leadership graduate programs and the Academy of Management. At the 2026 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, 14 organizational change leadership doctoral students attended, with many presenting papers and posters and participating in doctoral consortia.
Students are already contributing to important conversations in the field. This agreement gives them more opportunities to receive feedback, build relationships, develop their work, and see how they can contribute across academic and organizational settings.
Western’s organizational change leadership program prepares students to understand and lead complex organizational change through rigorous scholarship, reflective practice and engagement with real-world organizational issues. The partnership advances that mission by connecting students directly to the people, ideas and professional opportunities shaping the field.
The Academy of Management’s Community Accelerator Program connects institutions and scholars with Academy of Management resources, global networks and tailored development opportunities that strengthen emerging scholars, locally grounded research and regional academic communities.
Learn more about Converge
Converge: A Summit for Academics, Practitioners, and Emerging Professionals will take place Nov. 19-20 at Western Michigan University. Registration opens soon. Visit the Converge event page for additional information and registration details. Registration will open at the end of September.
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